Exterior form for use in molding burial vaults and the like



Feb. 15, 1949. J, s SCHOP 2,461Q9Z8 EXTERIOR FORM FOR USE IN MOLDING v BURIAL VAULTS AND THE LIKE Filed F'eb. 24, 1945 2 SheebS-Sheef. l

l l l MEQ?? /l Bnventor Feb. 15, 1949. J' s, SCHOPF 2,461,928

EXTERIOR FORM FOR USE IN MOLDING BURIAL VAULTS AND T-HE LIKE Filed Feb. 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. `15, 1949 nx'rnaron FORM Fon USE IN MoLDlNG BURIAL vAULTs AND THE LIKE John S. Schopf, Spolrane, Wash. Application February 24, 1945,y SerialNo. 579,524

(Cl. .Z5-130) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a mold and it is one objectl of the invention to provide a mold which is particularly adapted for forming burial vaults, it being understood that by properly shaping elements of the mold, other articles or structures may be formed` Another object of the invention is to provide arnold; inclu-ding a base and outer form to be spaced from an inner form so that by lling the space between the forms a hollow vault or other structure may be formed when the formed struc tureris removed from thev mold.

`Another object of the invention is to provide a mold having sections so formed that they may be firmly held together to form an outer form, s

the sections being also so held to each other that they may be readily separated when a vault has set and is ready to be removed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mold which is very strong but of light Weight and capable of being handle-d while being assembled or taken apart.

v 'The invention is illustratedl in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing its inner Fig; 5 is a perspective view of a portion 'of 5 the inner form. y

Fig. 6 is a transverse. sectional view on the This improved mold has a base I formed of sheet metal and having upstanding flanges 2 along its sides and ends, the base being held ingvertical spaced relation to the ground or a table ory other support by a foundation 3. A portion of the base i, midway its length and width extends upwardly to form a raised portion 4 serving to form a recess or air trap in the under face of the bottom of a vault formed inthe mold. The vault is formed of con-crete poured into the. mold.y between inner and outer forms supported over the base and the forms are removed after the concrete has set and hardu ened.

The inner form has a bottom 5 formed of sheet metal and provided along its sides with flanges 6 and across its rear end with a similar iiange l, and attention is called to the fact that thesevanges extend upwardly atan inwardineline.. Theside walls 8' of the inner form are also formed of sheet metal and have flanges 9 along their lower edges which extend inwardly at an upward incline and are parallel to the anges t. A suitable number of blocks Illsup.- portthe .bottom 5 in vertical spaced relation to the upstanding central portion 4 of the lvbase l and, in order to hold the flanges 6 andy 9 spaced from each other, there have been provided strips or bars il which are preferably formed of wood. These bars or strips have extensions l2 which proj ect outwardly therefrom near their front ends and rest against ends of a bar I3 extending under the front end of the bottom plate transverse-v ly thereof. Inwardly extending -flanges I4 are formed along upper edges of the side walls and at their rear ends are formed inwardly extending end iianges I5. Acover plate I6 rernovabli7 rests upon the upper flanges l and upon this cover plate rests a ycross bar il which has its ends resting upon upper ends of bars l8- disposed vertically against the side walls andresting upon the outstanding tongues l2 of the bars. Il. The bars I3, Il and i8 cooperate to form a channel in the front end of a vault formed of cement which sets about the inner form. A suitable number. of members i9 are carried by the bottom plate 5 in depending relation to its under face and form recesses inthel bottom of the vault to receive rollers upon which a Collin rests sothat it may be easily pushed into the vault. The front end' of the inner form isleft open but its rear end is .closed by a rear wall or plate..20 which bears against the flanges 'l and I5 of the bottom 5 and the side walls 8. `This end wall orpl'ate 20 is of such dimensions that during dismantling of the mold it may readily fall forwardly and then be withdrawn from the vault.

The outer form is also formed of companion sections and has side walls 2l formed of sheet metal and having outstanding nanges 22 along their lowerv edges Which rest upon the base and have abutting engagement with the side flanges of the base. Inspaced relationto its lower. end, each side wallZl is bent to form a diagonally eX- tending portion 23 which imparts a wide base Portion to a vault formed in the mold. The

z upper edge portion of each side wall 2l is folded to form an outstanding upper flange 2A of double thickness and near its ends each side wall is formed'with openings receiving tie rods orbolts 25 carrying nuts 2B which, when tightened, draw the side `walls into flat, contacting engagement with end walls 28`and 29.

The end wallv 28. is formed with an outstandingflange 3U along its upwardly curved'edgeand near its lower end is lbent to form a sloping portion 3i cooperating with the sloping. portions 230i the sidewalls 2|. An outstanding flange 32l is formed along the upwardly curvedvupper edge of the front wall 29 and, from an inspection of Fig. l, it will be seen that after the mold has been filled with concrete, a straight-edge scraper may be set at rest upon the flanges 30 and 32 and moved transversely of the mold from one flange 24 to the other to form the Vault` with la smooth 1upper surface which'is; rounded transversely, since it will follow the curvature of the flanges 30 and 32. Flanges 33 and 34 extending outwardly along lower edges f the end walls 28 and 29 hold these Walls in spaced relation to ends of the base I and so position the end Walls that the bolts or rods 25 may be passed through the openings of the side walls 2| and across outer faces of the end walls to brace the end walls against outward movement and hold the side walls firmly against the end walls.

The rear wall 28 has a portion 35 projected outwardly and defining an internal recess 36 to form an outstanding ledge across the outer face of the rear wall of the vault along the upper edge of its recess. Strips 3l which extend vertically at sides of the outer faces of the end wall 28 serve to brace this wall and its outwardly bent portion 35. The front wall l29 is formed with an opening to snugly receive the forward end portion of the inner form, as shown in Fig. 3, and this wall is preferably formed of separate strips of sheet metal, the side strips 38 having portions near their upper ends bent to form outwardly projecting recesses 39 for forming the front end of a vault with outstanding ledges cor responding to the outstanding ledge of the rear wall of the vault. Strips di) are mounted vertically along the strips 38 to brace the same. The lower end portion of the front wall is bent to form a sloping portion 4l which cooperates with the sloping portions 23 of the side walls 2i. It will thus be seen that a vault formed in the mold will have a base portion enlarged at both its sides and ends. Since the vault will =be formed with outstanding lledges upon its end Walls, a sling may be engaged about the vault and the vault lowered into a grave Without danger of the vault slipping from the sling.

In order to form a closure for the open front end of the vault, there has been provided an auxiliary mold 42 formed of sheet metal and having marginal walls of such depth that when the mold is filled with concrete and the concrete sets and hardens, a closure will be formed of a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the walls of the vault. This mold 42 has its wall 43 formed with an outwardly projecting portion 44 dening an internal recess 45 in which a ledge is formed for cooperating with the ledges formed in the recesses 39 of the end wall 29.

When the improved mold is in use, it is set up as shown in Fig. l, with the inner form resting upon the blocks i0 and the walls of the outer form resting upon the base l'. The front end portion of the inner form nts through the front wall of the outer form with the tongues l2 bearing against the inner surface of wall 29 and, when the rods 25 are applied and the nuts 26 tightened, the elements of the mold will be held rnily in engagement with companion elements. The inner and outer forms are held in predetermined spaced relation to each other and the space between these forms is lled with concrete which is allowed to set and harden. The rods 25 are then removed to release the walls of the outer form and allow them to be taken apart and the side walls and bottom of the inner form may then be easily withdrawn from the molded 4 vault. When the side walls and the bottom of the inner form are withdrawnfrom the vault the rear wall will tilt forwardly so that it may be grasped and withdrawn and the top I6 then easily withdrawn. Rollers may then be set in recesses formed in the bottom of the vault and the vault is then ready for use. After a casket has been placed in the vault, the closure formed in the mold 42 is thrust into place and a tight joint formed with cement.

what is claimed 1s: l

1. A mold of the character described includiing an outer form comprising a base and side walls and front and rear end walls resting thereon. the front end wall being formed with an opening for receiving an end of an inner form, said walls having outstanding flanges along their lower ends engaging upstanding abutments carried by the base and holding the walls spaced from margins of the base with end portions of the side walls bearing against side edges of the end walls, and rods passed through ends of the side walls and across outer surfaces of the end walls to releasably hold the walls in engagement with each other.

2. A mold of the character described including an outer form comprising a base and side walls and front and rear end walls resting thereon, the front end wall being formed with an opening for receiving an end of an inner form, said walls having outstanding flanges along their lower ends engaging upstanding abutments carried by the base and holding the walls spaced from margins of the base with end portions of the side Walls bearing against side edges of the end walls, rods passed through ends of the side walls and across outer surfaces of the end walls to releasably hold the walls in engagement with each other, said end walls having portions projecting outwardly and dening inner recesses for forming outstanding ledges across end walls of a vault formed in the mold, and strips mounted vertically upon outer faces of the end walls to reinforce the end walls.

3. A mold of the character described including an outer form comprising a base and side walls and front and rear end walls resting thereon, the front end wall being formed with an opening for receiving an end of an inner form, said walls having outstanding flanges along their lower ends engaging upstanding abutments carried by the base and holding the walls spaced from margins of the base with end portions of the side walls bearing against side edges of the end walls, rods passed through ends of the side walls and across outer surfaces of the end walls to releasably hold the walls in engagement with each other, the end walls having outstanding anges along their upper ends and the side walls hrving outstanding anges along their upper e ges.

JOHN S. SCHOPF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number a 

